Artist removes Sea Point sculptures

Cape Town - The girl sculptures that could be seen on the Sea Point promenade over the last 19 months, was removed this week.

Artist Marieke Prinsloo-Rowe and her assistants on Tuesday removed all 18 sculptures in the Walking The Road series.

The sculptures were targeted by vandals several times during the months it spent on the popular hiking trail.

According to Prinsloo-Rowe this is not the reason why the sculptures are now back in her studio in Grabouw.

"The initial idea was to display them just for a year. The extra month was wonderful.

"They were not made to last that long. After their time as public property they're now back in my studio. Those that I keep, will still be exhibited," she said.

Difficult to remove

Prinsloo-Rowe together with her husband, Alex, their son, Samuel, and three assistants visited the promenade for the last time to remove the sculptures.

The sculptures of a girl and a dragonfly have been exhibited since June 2010.

"It was a process to remove the sculptures form their pedestals. After a lot of welding they were loaded onto the truck with a crane and then we went home."

According to Prinsloo-Rowe, the sculptures she recently replaced were the most difficult to remove. The new cement sculptures did not endure so much wind, rain, sunshine and showers as the others.

According to Beverley Schäfer, councillor for the Sea Point area, the city hopes to have public art exhibitions on the promenade again in the future.

"The exhibition fitted well with the promenade and became part of the Sea Point area. We hope to have more public art exhibitions in the area in future."

The City Council has no specific artist in mind who will now take over from Prinsloo-Rowe on the promenadel.

Comments

adriaan.rossouw - 2012-01-12 11:49

I like the photograph.
Very good advertisement on how not to follow Health and Safety Guidelines.
A Prize goes to the first person who is able to identify the 5 non-conforming items.
send your answers to:
hugo@kapstadt.travel

ruanpretorius1980 - 2012-01-12 13:22

Uhm... Let's see!
1. The boy/man on the pallet - No harnass and no safety cage
2. The boy/girl/baby on the driver's lap
3. The strobe light is not working
4. The driver has no hands on the controls or steering wheel
5. The driver is not wearing his safety belt
6. There is no signs warning about dangerous operation of a heavy vehicle visible
7. Shouldn't the driver also be wearing his seatbelt?
8. I can't see any safety boots being worn by any one of the "passengers" or driver
9. Hard hats anyone?
10. Was the forklifts handbrake engaged when the lifting commenced?
And this is just from the top of my head

ruanpretorius1980 - 2012-01-12 13:23

They should be wearing sunscreen too! ;-P

colleen.figg - 2012-01-12 11:57

I for one am VERY glad to see the back of them. I found them to be a blight on the landscape.

Citroes - 2012-01-12 19:44

I see you live in Germiston - the hub of creativity and forward thinking. Why do you even have an opinion on this piece of news, as it has no bearing on you? And just for interest sake - what would you prefer to see on the promenade? Dog poo and bergie vomit? Your ignorance is showing sweetheart.

Johan - 2012-01-12 12:30

thanks Marieke, brightened up my daily sunset dogwalk for a whole year now

marlene.koekemoer - 2012-01-12 12:37

It is a very sad day for the Seapoint promenade. Those sculptures were amazing,perfect in the setting and uplifting. I adored them.

jacqui.jacobson1 - 2012-01-12 12:38

I absolutely loved the sculptures, i"m so sorry to see them go:-(

Lynn - 2012-01-12 12:58

Those sculptures were lovely and suited the setting and will be sorely missed. Pity not everyone appreciates art.

cathy.ronaasen - 2012-01-12 13:58

Did anyone proof-read this before posting it? The most poorly-spelt and badly-written piece I have read in a while.

cathy.ronaasen - 2012-01-12 14:02

Sorry to see the sculptures go.
What I want to know is, did anyone actually proof-read this before posting this live? The most badly-spelt and poorly-written post I have read in ages...

colleen.figg - 2012-01-13 09:47

@ Citroes, your ignorance is showing too. I lived in CT for some time and was subjected to the sculptures every day for months on end. Just because I live in Germiston does not mean I come from Germiston, so straighten out your thinking, will you?